Hugh Philp was appointed club maker to the
Society of St. Andrews (Later the Royal & Ancient) in 1819. He, and his
clubs (Especially his putter), established a unique reputation and were in
great demand. In 1852, Philp’s nephew, Robert Forgan, Took over the family
business, and a combined ‘Philp Forgan’ motif was stamped on the clubs. Four
years later, when Hugh Philp died, ‘Philp Forgan’ simply became ‘Forgan’. From
that day forward, Robert and his brother James paid great attention to raw
materials and pioneered the use of hickory for the shaft. To prevent
unscrupulous merchants from switching the wood, the Forgans’ used a special
hammer to stamp the family name on each piece of timber they selected for
delivery.

In 1863, Robert Forgan was appointed club maker to the Prince
of Wales and was allowed to use the Prince’s Feathers as a trademark on all
his clubs. As business increased, so did the size of the company. Robert’s
son, T.B. Forgan, joined his father’s company in 1881 and by 1895 the company
had nearly 40 employees. By the turn of the century, Forgan was the largest
equipment maker in St. Andrews and had fully merchandised their
operation.

Forgan of St. Andrews is the oldest name in golf
and the time tested tradition of providing superior products and service is
being carried on to serve you as our valued customer.